


keep calling me home

by crossingwinter, redbelles, ShadowRen, tmwillson3



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Childhood Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Inspired by Tamora Pierce, Mutual Pining, Round Robin, Tortall AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23338468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crossingwinter/pseuds/crossingwinter, https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbelles/pseuds/redbelles, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowRen/pseuds/ShadowRen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwillson3/pseuds/tmwillson3
Summary: The road into Coruscant was busier than she remembered.Or: After seven long years wandering as a knight-errant, Rey returns to the city where it all began, and finds that it isn't the journey that troubles her but rather who's waiting at the end of it.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 71
Kudos: 260
Collections: Reylo Round Robin





	1. redbelles

The road into Coruscant was busier than she remembered. Carts, wagons, countless pilgrims traveling on foot; no wonder the queen had proposed a levy to expand the roads in and out of the city. Falcon snorted beneath her, ears twitching back in irritation. He was the best warhorse a knight could ask for, endlessly brave and much faster than he had any right to be, but he wasn’t fond of crowds.

“Almost there,” Rey told him, patting his neck. It was a half-hearted attempt at reassurance, and Falcon snorted again to tell her what he thought of it. “Oh hush,” she scolded, ignoring the glances from nearby travelers. She had a lifetime of practice ignoring rude stares. She nudged Falcon to a brisk walk and tried not to let her nerves get to her as they drew closer to the capital. It wasn’t the journey that bothered her but rather who was waiting at the end of it.

Ostensibly she was headed to Coruscant in preparation for the upcoming Royal Progress, Queen Leia’s grand tour of the country’s fiefs and duchies, but she could have gotten out of it if she’d really wanted to. A knight-errant’s work was to find the forgotten corners of the realm and bring hope and justice to those places; all the bowing and prancing expected of anyone attending the Progress was better suited to the nobles and the desk knights, the ones who only wore their armor for show. Rey wasn’t a desk knight and she certainly wasn’t a noble, but here she was all the same.

_And why is that?_ a voice in her head sneered. _To moon over the prince one last time before he’s married off to some foreign princess and forever out of your reach?_

Her self-doubt always sounded like Hux. Irritating but not unexpected, given the vicious rivalry that raged between them during the long years of page training. He resented her because she was a nobody—and a _girl_ —and she hated him because he was a rat bastard who never missed an opportunity to stab someone in the back. Especially if that someone was Ben.

Ben, who risked his already precarious reputation by sponsoring the realm’s first openly female page. Ben, who grew from a gawky, too-tall boy into a confident, composed young man right before her eyes. Ben, who believed in her from the first.

It had hurt to leave him, but she’d made herself do it anyway. Even with her shield, she was still a nobody. Queen Leia may have gotten away with marrying a smuggler instead of a proper noble, but that was during the madness of her father’s reign. There was no way Ben would be allowed the same leeway.

_As if he’d ever even look at you that way in the first place. You’re not a woman to him; you’re just Rey._

Memory flared to life like a candle: shared worries, the rough floor of a stone hut, the two of them huddled together as thunder crashed outside. Ben’s face, so close that his breath fanned out against her skin as his lips parted, his eyes dark with something she could have _sworn_ was want—

For a heart-stopping moment, she’d thought he was going to kiss her.

He didn’t, of course. A flash of lightning had sent him leaping away from her like a startled rabbit. She’d swallowed down her disappointment—and gods above, it stung—and needled him about his jumpiness until the awkwardness subsided. The storm passed, and for the most part, so did her disappointment. If she sometimes found herself back in that miserable hut in dreams, those plush lips soft on hers, well. Who could control their dreams?

Flushing, she scrambled for some other topic to occupy her thoughts and cool the burning heat in her cheeks. The pungent smell of the city. The section of stitching on her gloves that was beginning to fray. The fact that she was nearly at the gates and just now realizing she didn’t have a damn thing to wear other than her armor or her worn traveling clothes.

_As if that matters. You’re a nobody; no dress can change that, no matter how fine or fashionable._

What she wouldn’t give for the voice to actually _be_ Hux— she could beat it bloody and be done with it. As it was, she did her best to shove the snide commentary away and focus on the road.

They were approaching the main gate now. Falcon danced impatiently beneath her as the crowd slowed and bunched together, ready to be on clearer streets. He got his wish sooner than she’d have guessed. One of the guards at the gate spotted her shield, eyes widening. Rey cursed herself for a fool; she should have covered the damn thing before the city came into view.

“Well met, Lady Rey!”

_Should have been a herald with that voice,_ she thought grouchily as the crowd parted for her, people scrambling aside to let her pass. _I’m sure half the district knows I’m here._

“Well met,” she replied, reining in Falcon’s attempt to seize the bit and make a break for it. “Good luck with the watch.”

It was a perfunctory response but the guardsman’s eyes widened as if he’d been acknowledged by the queen herself. “Thank you, milady! No chance of glory here, though I suppose that’s why you wander, isn’t it?”

Her smile felt terribly fake. “Something like that.” She eased her grip on the reins. Falcon took her cue for what it was, tossing his head and snorting, the very picture of impatience. “But wandering makes for a hungry horse. I’d best head to the palace stables if I’m to stay in his good graces.”

She stripped off her cloak and draped it over her shield as soon as she was out of sight of the gate. She was immensely proud of the shield and the years of work it represented, but after so long spent in hamlets and quiet villages, she was no longer used to the attention it drew from city folk. They loved to gawp at the realm’s only official lady knight, the orphan from Jakku who’d gone from a mere curiosity to a legend in her own right. Some wouldn’t piss on her if she were on fire, offended to their very bones that a woman would dare take up arms as a knight, but others cheered for her, holding her up as proof that the realm was finally moving in the right direction.

Rey wasn’t sure how she felt about all that. She wasn’t the first woman to earn her knighthood, she was simply the first in centuries with the distaff border on her shield. That was something even the Queen’s Champion couldn’t boast, though no one was arguing that Sir Amilyn wasn’t both a woman and knight. Not anymore, at least; Amilyn had put down enough challengers that even her staunchest critics had to admit she earned her shield fair and square, no matter that she’d been disguised as a boy at the time.

In comparison, Rey’s path was much more straightforward. Orphaned in a tiny province near the southwestern border, she’d been shuffled from temple to temple until the nascent bloom of her Gift caught the eye of a shrewd old priestess named Maz. Maz sent her to Coruscant, putting in a word with some contact in the city that she should receive training. When it became clear that her Gift was martial, she’d been given a choice: train as a sorceress in the Temple of the Gods in Theed, or join the Queen’s Riders. She chose a third option: try for her knighthood.

She was the first girl to attempt it in the wake of the Amilyn’s scandal; just because the law allowed it didn’t mean that a girl’s parents would. But Rey had no one to stop her, so knighthood it was. Four years as a page, another four as a squire, and then the Chamber. She’d left the capital behind as soon as she passed her Ordeal and she hadn’t been back. Not until now.

The last time she saw Ben she was dazed and shaken, the Chamber’s visions echoing viciously inside her skull, and she all but sagged in his arms when he drew her into a hug.

“It’s over,” he promised her. “You did it. You’re a knight, Rey.”

Ben never lied to her. She did it. She was a knight. And her time with him was over.

She wondered if he’d forgive her.

She shoved the thought away, pushing it out of her mind just like she’d done earlier with the poisonous voice. That was a thought for after she’d groomed Falcon and found some dusty, little-used corner of the palace to camp in. She could prod at that wound—still open after seven long years—all she wanted while she waited for the Progress to kick off. She’d make it a point to see Ben at a feast or a tourney, someplace public where she could wish him well, and then she’d finally be able to get on with her life. It would be fine.

The palace stables were just as she remembered them. Late afternoon sun shone through the high windows; it was just about time for the evening hay and grain but there were no grooms in sight. Taking advantage of every quiet moment they could, she guessed. She’d certainly catnap at every opportunity if she had to care for all the horses accompanying the flood of nobles into the city.

Dismounting, she led Falcon to an empty stall and began to untack him. She was halfway through stowing her gear when footsteps sounded in the aisle. Whoever it was, they had a decisive, hurried stride.

_Best not bother them,_ she thought. She’d scrounge up some dinner for Falcon on her own. Turning back to the stall, she nearly shrieked when a low voice chimed in from somewhere above her left ear.

“Still riding that old nag?”

Deeper than she’d last heard it, just the slightest bit hesitant, but _oh_ , she knew that voice. She turned around and there he was. Tall, and broad. Taller. Broader? He’d put on muscle; his shoulders strained the seams of even the palace’s fine tailoring. He was in the familiar blue and cream of the royal family, looking every inch the heir to the throne, but his eyes were guarded.

The urge to hug him was an almost physical ache, but somehow she restrained herself. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry as a desert.

_So much for hunkering down and catching him in public._

“Hi, Ben.”


	2. tmwillson3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben meet and duel

Her throat may have been dry, but nothing could hide the familiarity in her voice as she said his name. Ben’s eyes became slightly less guarded at hearing his name, and something in his mein changed as well, his whole body loosening up. 

Most would have missed the way his jaw moved or his hands flexed at his side, but she didn’t miss it. Those were the small things about him she had missed. It was comforting knowing that some things hadn’t changed. 

A smile played at the corners of his mouth. “You’re truly back.”

His voice was softer then, and both let out the breath they had been holding. She had missed the way he said her name. 

Not to mention the way he looked at her. There was an intensity to him that unnerved many, but to her, it was almost addicting, to have his gaze and single-minded attention on her, despite him having other duties and people that called him away. 

It was as though the rest of the world dissolved into nothingness, and there was only them. That feeling hadn’t changed with time. His dark eyes pierced her soul as he took her in, and she was just as eager to drink him in. 

“Yes. Yes, I am. I wanted to see—”

It took several minutes for her brain and manners to catch up, and that was when she realized that she was still addressing the Crown Prince. She bowed respectfully. 

“My apologies. I—”

“Don’t be,” he replied, his hand coming forward and touching her chin, lifting her up. “Sorry, that is. You’re a knight of the realm. My hero.”

She bloomed under his touch, smiling more. By some miracle, he wasn’t wearing the black, leather gloves he habitually wore. His smooth, very large hand was warm, and it made her feel hotter than when she wore her full suit of armor in battle in the middle of summer. 

It took everything within her not to embrace him when he called her his hero. For him, she would be anything he asked of her. “For you, the kingdom, and justice,” she said, her body drooping slightly when he pulled his hand away. 

He looked pleased. “I expect nothing less.”

Just then, Falcon whinnied, demanding his meal. The spell was broken between them, and they put some distance between them as Rey petted Falcon.

“I see the old nag is still more impatient about food than his first owner,” said Ben wryly, stepping behind Rey, his body heat noticeable to her from his close quarters. 

Rey grinned at the mention of Han. Falcon had been Ben’s last gift before she left to be a knight, and he had convinced his father to let go of the old warhorse so he could do what he had been bred to do. 

“Yes. He’s a stubborn, needy one, but I love him dearly. How is the King? And the Queen?” asked Rey conversationally as she filled the trough with hay. 

"They’re well. Father is hiding in preparation for the Progress already, and Mother is in her element.” He paused when she didn’t stop working. "Rey, let the servants take care of him,” he said, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder, tugging her up. "Come inside. Rest.”

“Falcon needs the rest. Not me,” she replied, standing up. 

She was pleasantly surprised when Ben brought forward an apple and fed it to Falcon, whispering words of welcome to the old friend who had helped the prince and page—and later squire—escape duties in bygone days. The old, white horse nickered and devoured the apple quickly, and Ben motioned for them to leave the stable. She nodded her agreement. 

“If you’re not tired, what do you desire to do? The activities for the Progress haven’t begun in earnest yet,” said Ben, the afternoon sunlight cloaking his face in light and shadow. 

“I wouldn’t mind practicing with my weapon and shield,” she mused aloud. “Any new pages looking for a real challenge?”

“ _ I  _ need a real challenge,” complained Ben. “Everyone takes it easy on me.”

“Because you learned from the best or because they’re afraid of injuring the Crown Prince?” asked Rey, chuckling. 

Ben shrugged. “Either way, you  _ might _ be a suitable opponent for me now.”

“Might?” she parroted indignantly, her hackles rising. 

Ben finally grinned. The surest way to make Rey do something was to tell her that she couldn’t do it, and he knew it. Rey was too huffy to notice his triumphant smirk. 

“You never did defeat me before,” he said lightly, leading her down the stone colonnade that connected the stables to the castle. 

Rey didn’t like his cocky attitude or words one bit. “I was smaller and inexperienced, and you had Luke and many years of practice.”

He gave her a sly look. “Then you’ll have to prove yourself now. I’ll bring out all the pages and squires to watch so they can see a real knight fight.”

“Hux isn’t a good instructor?” she asked curiously.

She knew he had become a knight and seen battle a few times, but he quickly ran with his tail between his legs back to the castle after an injury. She hadn’t seen him since. 

Ben wrinkled his nose. “No. He’s more of a nasally courtier than a knight these days.”

“Such a waste,” she said, not looking forward to seeing the owner of the voice in her head. Remembering her manners at seeing Ben’s raised eyebrow, she rushed to add, “Of his manifold abilities after all the training he received.”

Ben nodded and let the comment pass, opening a door. “Agreed. Let’s meet in the center court in thirty minutes. I look forward to defeating you again.”

“You’re about to lose for the first time with an audience. To a lady,” she replied dryly.

He shook his head. “Highly improbable. I never lose.” Then he was in her face, and she took a step back in surprise, stopping when her back hit the door. He followed, his voice dropping until it sounded intimate. 

“But if I must lose, I’d rather it be to Lady Rey, the greatest knight in the realm.” His hot breath left her feeling flushed, and it sent the loose locks around her face dancing. A gentle hand crept up, pushing the strands behind her ear before cupping her face, and she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes briefly. “As soon as the guard called your name at the gate, I was looking for you. I had to see you for myself, to know that I wasn’t alone anymore.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Could it be that Ben had missed her just as viscerally as she had him?

“You never were,” she whispered, reminding him of a stormy afternoon when they had been stuck together in a stone hut. 

That was the day squire Rey had shared her deepest fears with him right before the Ordeal, and he had patiently listened to her as both sat on the cold ground, lost to the pounding rain and crashing thunder around them. That was the day she knew she had a crush on Ben, and then had an almost-kiss with him before they left the tiny hut belonging to the groundskeeper. 

She had never forgotten that moment of awkwardness, both leaning in until a blast of thunder and lightning sent them reeling apart. She knew she needed to let go of him and move on, but now, it felt even harder knowing he had missed her.

“Neither are you,” he murmured, stepping closer. 

Rey leaned her head in, as though to kiss him. Ben blinked and took a hulking step back, unprepared for  _ that _ . Rey felt the sting of rejection keenly, and suddenly, fighting him sounded like the best idea ever.

She turned her face to compose herself, and Ben cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry.”

“What did you do this time? She’s barely arrived, and I want to spend time with her before she leaves,” said a new voice.

“It’s nothing,” said Rey, making Ben sigh.

Ben gave the newcomer a slight smile and walked away to give them a moment. “Thirty minutes, Rey.”

Rey’s face lit up as she beheld the leader of the King's Own and her dearest mentor, Chewie. He was an old friend of the king, and by extension, the royal family, and Rey felt like he was the father she had always wanted. She ran into his open arms, and the two embraced like family. 

“Chewie, I’ve missed you so much.”

“Not as much as I’ve missed you, little one.”

Chewie was the fiercest fighter she knew, and everyone was scared of him. Sure, he was broad and hairy and made the best weapons in the kingdom, but he was secretly the most caring man she knew. He had gone back for countless men under his watch and saved the king more times than he had fingers to count. 

After a long embrace, Chewie escorted her to the center court and asked about the prince.

“Ben wants a challenge, so we’re going to fight. He’s bringing all the pages and officials out to watch in honor of my return.”

“He does realize he’s going to lose to you, doesn’t he?” he asked, making Rey chuckle. 

“I tried to tell him that, but he didn’t believe me.”

“You’ll knock him down a peg or two; he needs it,” grumbled Chewie. “Plus it’ll distract him from the unfortunate business with—”

“With what?” asked Rey, not liking how he trailed off as they stopped at the edge of the walled-in court. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“His parents are trying to arrange a marriage for him. He’s rejected all their ideas, and I don’t blame him. I told Han as much. They’re at odds presently, so Ben needs the distraction.”

Rey’s mouth gaped. It was as she feared, but she was secretly glad that Ben had said no to them. 

What Chewie neglected to mention to Rey was Ben’s condition for marriage, that he wanted to marry his equal. He’d let Rey and Ben discover that on their own. 

“I heard you had returned. I’m not sure why you did,” said a sneering voice to Rey’s left.

She turned her head to barely acknowledge Hux. “It seems you haven’t changed, either. Greetings.”

“Don’t you have another nobleman you should be sucking up to instead of badgering a national hero?” commented Chewie, earning a scowl from Hux.

“I heard she was about to duel with Prince Ben and lose. Of course I’m going to watch.”

Rey gave him her coldest glare. “You were woefully misinformed.”

Hux walked away dismissively. Rey sighed and prepared for the duel, removing layers of unneeded armor and putting on her bracers. She was about to pick up her broadsword when Chewie stopped her.

“I made you a weapon, and I’d be honored if you used it today and going forward.”

She blinked, not ready for that mark of attention. Chewie’s bowcaster was legendary, as were all the weapons he created. That he made her one was the highest honor she could receive. 

“It’d be my pleasure,” enthused Rey, her face lighting up as she looked around for it. "What is it?”

“A glaive,” replied Chewie, summoning a servant forward with the polearm. “I know you love your old quarterstaff.” 

Rey lovingly touched the long, curved blade with one smaller blade sticking out parallel to the main blade. She admired the little details of distaffs and ivy that Chewie hammered into either side of the blade. Then, she picked it up, twirling it experimentally. “Perfectly balanced.”

“Naturally. Use it well,” said Chewie, pushing her forward as Ben appeared in dark blue training gear. “Make me proud.” 

A current of excitement filled the air, and Rey felt alive. People crowded the entire space, all excited to watch a highly anticipated fight. Rey thought she even spotted Ben’s parents approaching Chewie.

She beamed at her mentor. “I will.”

She turned to face Ben expectantly. He was admiring her new weapon, but he quickly turned away when he noticed her looking at him.

Both took a few moments to warm up before they met in the middle of the open area, members of court, pages, and squires all gathered to watch. Hux stood in a corner, looking on disdainfully. One of the newer heads of the guard, someone named Dameron, was standing in a different corner, taking bets about who would win.

After dispensing with the opening ritual, both drew their weapons, and Ben swung his broadsword in a wide arc, his signature move. Rey pressed her feet into the ground a little harder, bracing herself before she whipped her glaive in a circle in front of her, the sunlight glinting off of the sleek metal.

“May the best warrior win!” cried Chewie. "First blood.”

“I hope you’re ready to lose,” said Ben, lunging to the right.

His blade swung out. With both hands gripping the wooden pole, Rey met his first strike, holding him back. Their blades clanged in meeting, and Rey felt the power of his body ripple through her as she held him back.

“You wish,” she retorted, not waiting long to respond. 

Ben had endurance and power on his side, and Rey had speed and agility. What she lacked in power she made up for in ferocity. She knew she had to overwhelm him quickly in order to win, and despite the powerful swing, she knew that wasn’t his full capability. He was probably holding back, trying to get a feel for her before he cut her down like he did everyone else. 

She wasn’t going to let that happen. 

She turned her weapon slightly so that his blade caught in between her two. Pushing up and out quickly, she tried to knock his weapon from his grasp. 

“Hold on, Ben,” she said breathlessly, a fire in her eyes. 

He held on. “I wouldn’t worry about me, sweetheart.” Taking a large step forward, he pushed downward, and she twirled outward to avoid being struck. “Though you’re kind to mention it.”

Narrowing her eyes, she swiped at his legs. “Wouldn’t  _ dream _ of it, Your Worshipfulness.”

He dodged her strike, jumping back with both feet hastily. There was still no fury, no overpowering moves like she had seen from him in years before, and she bided her time, trying to find an opening to draw him out. He came in high, trying to hit where she was vulnerable. She slid her hands together and whirled the pole around expertly, knocking his weapon back.

“Is that everything you can do?” she scoffed.

“I can do this all day,” he said cockily, beckoning her forward.

She complied. She thrust to her right, and his blade met hers. She pulled back and swung again, this time above her head. He held her back. She came at him with a series of quick jabs and blows, trying to hit him anywhere she could find an opening. He was swift to deflect each one or move away. 

Both stepped back to catch their breath. With eyes locked on the other, he remarked, “You fight well...for a knight.”

“I wish I could say the same for you,” she replied. "I expected  _ more  _ from the Crown Prince and last student of the great Luke Skywalker.”

Ben’s jaw ticked, and she knew she had hit her target. Her goading worked too well, though. 

“Only because I was taking it easy on you. Consider that the warmup,” he said coldly.

He flew at her with a growl, thrusting straight at her. She spread her hands and used the pole to block his advance since he was too close to use the blade. He pushed harder against it, and she braced herself, knowing if she let it sit there much longer, he would see right through it. Given that he was actually angry now, he could hack through it easily. He brought his blade up slightly and came down on her harder. She grunted in response and waited for her moment. 

When the force of his blade lessened slightly, as though he were pulling back again, she struck. She dropped to her knees, swinging at him and forcing him to retreat. 

She barely missed him. 

When she was back on her feet, he was eyeing her with new respect. 

“Is that how you defeat your enemies, by staring them to death?” she sassed, finding it harder to breathe from all the exertion. 

“No. My looks usually do that for me,” he said, narrowing his eyes, starting to sound winded. 

He flexed his free hand, and Rey ran at him. Twirling until she was a blur of blue and metal, she aimed for his left side, using the other end of the glaive to try to trip him. She managed to unbalance him briefly before he regained his balance and swung at her with the full force of his considerable hulk. 

Rey had been waiting for this. This was it, her chance. As his sword bore down on her, she used the wooden pole to block. She pivoted in place, using the free blade to go for his arm and finish the duel.

But Ben was faster. He shoved at her, sending her off-balance, and she had to jump and run back a few paces to gain her bearings. As her heartbeat raced, she felt sweat cover her forehead and back, exhaustion coming for her, not having had this kind of good fight in a long time. Ben watched her carefully, waiting for a particular moment to attack. 

“Ready to yield, sweetheart?”

“Never.”

“We’ll see.”

Then, his sword was arcing out widely. She let him come to her to conserve energy. It was his turn to swing and miss her numerous times, and Rey proved just how fast she could be, gracefully avoiding each of his thrusts with ease. 

When he realized that he was getting nowhere, he fell back, needing to re-evaluate his battle plan. He looked at her with growing respect and awe as she swirled and landed with her feet in a lunging position, ready for his next attack. 

With sweat-slicked hair stuck to his face, he looked like he was starting to tire as well, which boded well for Rey. They were on an equal footing again. 

It was time to end this. 

He had almost caught his breath when she used her Gift to give herself an extra boost of energy to surge ahead, coming for his weaker left side. He managed to dodge and swing down. She barely got her blade up in time to block him, keeping him in place.

“Give in, Rey. You can’t last,” he said quietly. “You’ve given me the best fight of my life.”

A part of her preened under his words of praise, but the rest was annoyed. “I haven’t lost yet. I don’t intend to start now.”

He pushed down harder, and she gave an inch to get her arms in a comfortable position, his sword a little closer to her face. He was hunched down over her, and there was hardly any space between their faces. There was no sound but the heavy pants they shared and the sound of metal screeching against metal. He tried to push down again, but she held him back. 

“You can’t win, Rey. You can’t overpower me,” said Ben after a few more moments, breathing hard. 

“Neither can you. I’ve got the best defensive position there is,” she said breathlessly. “We’re both tired.”

“So? I can hold this longer than you,” he maintained, pressing down harder.

She continued to hold him back. “My will is as strong as yours. I will  _ not  _ be bested.”

The two began a prolonged game of tug of war, both trying to gain ground on the other. However, after another fifteen minutes of that stalemate, both stubbornly refused to concede defeat, despite their exhaustion. Rey feared that her arms would start shaking soon, and then it would be all over. 

“Stop! The duel is over by order of the King and Queen,” announced Chewie. 

Both froze and met each other’s eyes, trying to understand why they were being forced to stop. They looked over their bodies and found no blood, so when Chewie approached them, both were upset. 

“Who won? How did you determine a winner?”

“There is no winner. It’s a draw since you’re evenly matched. The King and Queen have declared it as such.”

Chewie looked almost gleeful while Ben and Rey still didn’t know how to react to such an outcome. As the crowds dispersed, food and drink were brought forward for the pair, as well as comfortable seats for recovery. 

When the pair were situated, Rey sighed loudly. Ben kept sneaking glances at her, and she was trying and failing to focus on the delicacies that had been provided. 

“What is it?” she asked testily when he never spoke.

He smiled, and her bad mood almost disappeared entirely at seeing the way his face transformed from just that genuine smile. 

“We were...pretty good out there. Just imagine what we could do if we were on the same side,” he said before biting into a sandwich.

“You’re right. We’d make an unstoppable team,” she agreed. After a pause, she added, “That was a really good fight.”

“No one’s ever challenged me like that before,” he said, taking her hand and squeezing it briefly. 

“Nor I. I was worried at the end,” she admitted quietly. 

“We were both flagging. It only proves that we’re evenly matched. Equals as it were,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes. 

“I like that. To being equals,” she replied, raising her goblet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the Den for putting this on and for reading!


	3. crossingwinter

“I’m tired,” Rey complained but Threepio was having none of it.

“The queen specifically requested that you sit with her tonight.”

And she knew there was no getting out of it. Perhaps if it was just Ben, she could have begged off. Indeed, if she’d learned one thing while they’d dueled, it was that he would have a hard time forcing her to do anything, they were so well matched.

But the queen…

“Will Sir Amilyn be there?” she asked Threepio.

“The Queen’s Champion is at court. She may well be asked to dine with the queen.”

Rey frowned. “Wouldn’t you know that?”

“The queen only sent me to you. She made no other indication of who she would be inviting, which means the choice is entirely her own.”

“Thanks, Threepio.”

Which meant Rey had just about an hour to make herself presentable.

“Damn,” she muttered to herself, rummaging through the sack she’d brought with her on the road. She had no court fineries. She’d never _had_ to have court fineries. She’d had a uniform as a page and a squire, and she’d taken off as soon as the Ordeal was over. 

She wondered what court would make of her if she showed up in her dusty tunic and leggings, in boots scarred from hard travel. 

Probably less scandalous than if she’d worn a dress after all those years dressed as a boy.

She sighed, and dug around in her bag for her least horrific pair of leggings and tried to find her least sweat-stained shirt. The tunic though…

There was a knock on her door, and opening it revealed Ben standing there. His hair was tousled, and she knew he’d rinsed the sweat from it because he’d always hated the feeling of drying sweat on his scalp. 

“I have something for you,” he said and his voice rumbled low in his chest and something about the way it did…

Rey’s mouth went a bit dry as he handed her a parcel wrapped in brown cloth. 

“Should I—” Rey asked and Ben nodded. She fiddled with the twine holding it together for a moment and then let the brown cloth fall open and—

She felt her breath catch in her throat. “Ben, you shouldn’t have.”

It was as though he’d known she’d need it—a tunic in cream and gold, the same colors as the shield he had presented her with the day she’d been knighted. 

“Figured you wouldn’t have thought far enough ahead to what you’d need to wear when you got back.” She looked back up at him. His cheeks were a bit pink, and in the shadow of them, she saw the beanpole boy she’d once known so well. 

“You always had my back,” she said, because she couldn’t think of what else to say. The flush deepened.

“See you down there,” he said quietly and left her to finish dressing.

—

Rey hadn’t forgotten how much she liked the queen, per se, but had definitely forgotten how easy it was to be around her. The queen—a daunting figure when Rey had been a girl—was easy going, enjoyed laughter, and always made Rey feel cared for. Ben had spent so much of his youth worried about disappointing his parents that Rey had spent years thinking this wasn’t possible. But the older she’d gotten, the more his mother—as much as decorum had allowed—had pulled her under her wing.

Dinner with the king and queen and, indeed, Sir Amilyn and Chewie, was as enjoyable a return to court as Rey would have thought possible, if she couldn’t sit with her friends.

Or it was until the queen said, almost idly, “Maybe now you’re back, my son will get married.”

And Rey almost choked on the bit of potato she was eating. “What?”

“I keep trying to convince him that he should settle on someone before I have to pick for him, but he keeps dodging the point. But he’s never been able to escape you, so maybe you can make him see reason.”

Rey should have been catching her breath about it, should have felt relieved. And yet her heart was hammering in her chest, and when she looked out over the hall to the table where Ben was sitting with Tai and Finn and the rest, all she could remember was the way he’d stepped back as though horrified when she’d inclined her head earlier. _He wouldn’t want to kiss you._

_I don’t want to kiss_ him, she retorted to herself, needing to convince herself. What was getting into her? Ben was _Ben_ . Stupid, stubborn, _huge_ Ben. She had spent her girlhood with him, had laughed at the rumors that their relationship was anything more than a friendly one for _years_. And yet he’d come to greet her the moment she had arrived, had dueled her just because she’d wanted to, had brought her a tunic.

_Stop it,_ she tried to tell herself.

“I’ll do what I can, Your Majesty,” she said and the queen smiled at her warmly.

“I still think you’re worrying too much. Ben’s still young,” Amilyn said with a twinkle in her eye. “And besides, you didn’t find Han until he was older than Ben is now.”

Queen Leia didn’t respond, though. Her eyes were on her son and when Rey turned to look at him, she found he’d been watching her. His ears went red again and he turned back to Tai.

“I think he thinks I’m stealing you,” Leia laughed. “I suppose I did, given you only just got back. He missed you a lot, you know.”

“I missed him, too,” Rey said quietly, hoping her face wouldn’t heat. 

“Well, I won’t keep you two apart a moment longer. Go on,” Leia said and Rey got to her feet at once and made her way over to where Ben sent.

“Banished?” he asked her, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I think she realized you wanted me, so sent me over.”

Ben gaped at her and Tai laughed. “Told you to stop staring. No wonder everyone thinks you moon over her.”

“I don’t moon over her,” Ben said at once, purpling and Rey—

Well, she didn’t mean to get mad. But it stung, sort of like how it had stung when he’d recoiled. Sure, he might have missed her but he didn’t need to act so repulsed by her either.

“Well, since you don’t moon over me,” she began but couldn’t for the life of her figure out how to proceed, so she turned on her heel and marched away.

_It was just rude,_ she thought angrily. Tai had always made fun—just a bit of teasing. And Rey had never minded before. But then again before, she’d not been wearing a tunic that Ben had thoughtfully given her, had been waiting for her for when she got back. It wouldn’t be right after dueling him and watching the sweat dripping down his brow as he couldn’t best her, as he wasn’t sure if he _wanted_ to best her.

And his mother wanted her to help convince him to marry someone else. Someone fitting, and proper, who wore gowns and not tunics and wouldn’t give him a fight when he had his head up his ass again.

She knew it was his hand grabbing her upper arm without having to turn around, without him saying, “Rey.”

“Let go of me.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I said let _go_.” The last word was hissed as she ripped her arm from his hand.

“Fine,” he said. “If you’re going to be like that.” And he turned around and left. 

“Oh if _I’m_ going to be like that,” she heard herself say and he froze.

They were at the edge of the hallway, and she should count herself lucky that there weren’t too many people watching her get into an argument with the crown prince.

His eyes flashed and he took a step towards her and he pointed to the door. She led him out of the great hall and, out of habit, out into the gardens. He’d kissed Bazine Netal in these gardens and she’d teased him for weeks. He’d found her crying here after Hux had gotten the better of her temper in a math class. And now it was just them and the moonlight as they made their way through the greenery, both stubbornly waiting for the other to talk first.

“Your mother wants you to get married,” Rey said.

“Is that what’s got you all huffy?” He sounded like he could laugh. 

“No, you acting as though I’m repulsive got me huffy,” she snapped and gods damn it, there were tears in her eyes. She looked away. “Am I that unloveable?”

Ben was silent. “You’re not repulsive,” he said and it was that same, low, breathtaking voice he’d used when he’d brought her the tunic. “You’re the farthest thing from unloveable.”

“You’re just saying that,” Rey said.

“I’m really not.” He sounded angry—but of course. Of course he would, caught in a lie.

“Actions speak louder than words, Ben Solo,” she says, rounding on him. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

And she did it again, stepping into his space, tilting her head up so that her face was close to his—close enough to kiss.

A moment could have lasted a lifetime, the look in his eyes as he stared down at her. She’d never seen his dark eyes look so bright before. She’d never thought she could feel the heat rolling off his body and yet it warmed her as much as the desert sun—though gentler, softer.

Her lips opened in surprise but she barely had time to breathe before his own lips crashed against hers. And it was like everything and nothing all at once—everything that could be, and nothing that could ever be the same, especially when he sighed against her lips and pulled her closer to him.

Fight or flight—that was what her teachers had always told her when she was young. When you’re afraid, you fight or you flee. 

And she’d already fought him that day, so she shouldn’t have been surprised when she stumbled back, and ran as fast as she could from the garden.


	4. ShadowRen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey gets advice from an unexpected source...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Erulisse17 for this amazing moodboard!

Rey had not even made it to the end of the hallway when she heard heavy footsteps behind her. Curse Ben and his impossibly long strides.

“Forget it, Ben,” she called without looking back. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“Heavens above, what’s my son gone and done now?”

That soft, gruff drawl behind her was definitely not Ben’s deep baritone. Rey whirled around to face the speaker, and froze when she saw that it was King Han. “Your Majesty,” she greeted, dropping into a flustered curtsey. 

“Oh, none of that here, Rey, just call me Han like you always did,” the king groaned, waving off her formality. “You know I’ve always hated all the pomp and titles.”

“Is that the same reason why you’ve just left the dinner before its end?” Rey asked, dropping back into a more casual tone. Han had always been one of the highlights of her time as Ben’s page, along with his trusty companion Chewie. His cheery disposition and down-to-earth behaviour as a former smuggler had given her a sense of home even as she trained among nobles in the royal court. The two of them were alike that way—neither were fond of the stifling traditions. 

“As if I can’t say the same thing about you and Ben. I swear, that boy gets into a world of mischief sometimes. Leia will have all our heads when we get back.” Han sighed, tugging at the high collar of his shirt. “If this wasn’t designed by tailors across the lands to choke nobles to death, I don’t know what else it was for.”

Rey chuckled at Han’s remark. “Why, for us to look ridiculous, of course!” she replied jokingly. The resulting laughter between the two lasted only a brief moment, as the events that had transpired merely moments ago returned to the forefront of Rey’s mind. The sensation of Ben’s lips, the heat of his breath against hers. “Han,” she addressed the old king after a moment of silence, “when did you know you loved Leia?”

The king’s expression softened at the question, a look of understanding crossing his face. “You too, huh?” he murmured. “Shouldn’t have been surprised.”

“What do you mean, me too?” Rey snapped. Did everyone think that about her and Ben except her and Ben? “Just answer my question.”

Han closed his eyes, bringing his hand up to his chin in a thoughtful gesture. “Leia and I went on a whole adventure with her brother Luke to try and overthrow Vader—you know that one, it’s in just about every history book you can think of. I think the first time I realised it, I was just about to be sealed in the enchanted stone. I thought I was going to die back then, so all the admiration I had for her skills, her wit, her bravery… I guess it just came out to me as love. Then, of course, I was freed sometime later and it just stuck.”

Rey nodded slightly, wringing her hands.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of that sort of moment, you know,” Han continued, causing Rey to look up from her hands. “Sometimes, like me, you just love someone for years and years, but it’s a different word every time: adoration, admiration, closeness—oh, look at me now with my fancy words, I think Leia’s finally started to rub off on me.”

Rey choked back a giggle at his grumbling, but Han noticed and shot her a withering look.

“Don’t you dare tell her,” he warned with a stern pointer finger waved at her. “My point is that you made Ben a very happy man throughout your entire time here and I’ve got no objections if both of you finally figured out your feelings for each other.”

That first point made Rey do a double-take. “I made Ben happy?”

Han raised an eyebrow. “You gone blind or something, kid?” he asked, falling into the rough, unstructured language of his upbringing. “Every time you’re here, Ben just keeps looking at you. Any time you’re not here all I hear is Rey, Rey, Rey, and more Rey. And, knowing you, you didn’t bring that fancy tunic you’re wearing all the way here.”

Rey looked down at her cream and gold tunic, the one Ben had given her earlier that evening. 

_ You’re the farthest thing from unloveable. _

“He sponsored you as a page, Rey. You know how closed off he used to be. Now he’s more open. Cheerful. You caused that. Better than I could ever say for myself. You’re good for him.”

“But traditions…”

“Oh, to hell with traditions,” Han groaned in exasperation. “Ben could do way worse than choosing his former squire. Leia lost all right for judging his choice of spouse the day she married this smoldering smuggler.”

“But he…” Rey hesitated, as if it would become true the moment she said it. “He doesn’t love me.”

“And who decided that?” snapped a familiar baritone.

Rey whirled around on the spot to see Ben stride up to her. He was breathing heavily and his clothes were rumpled, as if he had been running the whole way. “Ben!” she exclaimed. “What are you on about—”

Ben interrupted her by snatching up her hand in his. “Who said I didn’t love you, Rey?” he demanded. “Tell me!”

He actually had the audacity to think it was someone else’s fault. Rey bristled, and snapped back at him. “You, Ben! Who else? You’re the one who’s been telling me you didn’t love me, acting as if I’m repulsive, as if the thought of—of mooning over me was something to be embarrassed about. Like it’s embarrassing to be attracted to me, to a lowly knight not of noble birth—”

Ben shook her hand vigorously, pulling her away from her tirade. “I am not embarrassed about you, Rey. Never about you. I’m embarrassed because I thought you would never love me as a lover. That you would always see me as a friend, or the rival you could never beat in a duel—”

“You know I would have won that duel if Chewie hadn’t stopped us,” Rey interrupted with a small smile that quickly faded into what she was sure was a wide-eyed look when she realised he was being serious. “You… you thought I could never love you?”

“Rey, I understand if you don’t want a life with me. I know how stifling life as a royal could be when all you want is your freedom to explore and go on adventures and help people,” Ben said, “But I’ve always loved everything about you. How you never gave up on anything no matter how hard it was. How you always seemed to notice the small things no one else ever did. Your kindness towards even the smallest bird. I love you, Rey—I always have, and always will.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you two to get a room, I’m heading back before Leia kills me. Treat her right this time, Benny, you don’t want her running on you again.”

Both Ben and Rey turned their heads towards Han’s retreating figure as the king tossed them a casual wave behind his back. Rey had forgotten they even had an audience, and heat flushed her cheeks at the realisation that they had had one.

She turned back to Ben, and realised that he had a similar red flush to his cheeks. “I forgot about Father being there for a moment,” he finally said after a moment of silence.

Rey was also at a loss from words, both from the sudden interruption as well as Ben’s prior words. “You… you really meant what you said?” she finally asked.

Ben brought up his other hand to envelop hers. “Every word.”

—

“I see you’ve finally returned to dinner,” greeted Leia as Ben and Rey rejoined her at the dinner table. “I hope it wasn’t the food that upset you earlier, Rey, you left in quite the hurry.”

“I assure you, Your Majesty, the food had nothing to do with it,” Rey answered as smoothly as she could despite the stubborn heat still lingering in her cheeks. “I just needed some fresh air.”

“Well, you certainly have a much healthier look about you now,” teased the queen. Her gaze lowered to Ben and Rey’s joined hands, and the latter instinctively tried to pull away only to have Ben tighten his grip. 

“Mother…” Ben began, unsure of how to explain their situation, but Leia waved him off as soon as he had started. 

“Han already told me what happened,” the queen explained. “I certainly can’t judge her birth in the slightest given that I’ve married a smuggler and a former outlaw—Han is right in that regard—and I’ve regarded Rey as a daughter a long time ago. I say you couldn’t have chosen a better partner in life.”

Ben let out an audible sigh of relief. Rey’s attention, however, had turned to the other participants of the banquet. All eyes were on her and Ben, and she could hear a few murmurs here and there. Most of them, Tai and Chewie especially, had knowing grins on their faces.

“A toast,” Leia announced to the hall, “to Prince Ben and his future bride, Sir Rey.”

Ben let out a strangled cry and started sputtering about how he hadn’t even proposed yet, but his panicked protests were immediately drowned by deafening cheers from nearly everyone present as they raised their goblets. “To love!”

Ben gave up after a few seconds of his ramblings falling on deaf ears, and turned back towards Rey with a defeated shrug. “I suppose we can’t disappoint them now,” he said, inching closer to Rey and picking up his own goblet. “To love.”

Rey smiled back at him, pressed a kiss to his lips, and picked up her own.

“To love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! That's the end, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks always to all my round robin teammates for helping me navigate this AU for a book I've never read, and thanks to all you readers for your support. Hope to see you all in the next event!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to the writing den for putting together such an awesome event :)
> 
> and thanks to Celia for making the awesome moodboard!


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